System iNetwork

July 15, 2008

Good Karma Nabs $400 (Plus, Reno's a Great Place to Present a COMMON Session)

I have lots of fond memories of Reno--Nevada's biggest little city.

You, too, can make your own memories of the mountain town next April when COMMON holds its annual meeting and educational conference there. And speakers take note: The deadline for submitting sessions is August 31.

Reno is a great place to hold a conference, or in this case a week-long opportunity to learn about all things i. The event will be held April 26-30 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino.

Although I haven't been to Reno in a while, my memories of the gambling town are vivid. I grew up in Redding, Calif., just three hours northwest of Reno on the other side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

My parents would load my brother and me in the car and we'd make the trek to Reno, where my parents would drop a few coins in the slots and sip on the free drinks while my brother and I played video games to our hearts content at Circus Circus.

And then during my junior high years there was the annual Reno Jazz Festival, where music groups from regional schools competed in song and dance. Mrs. Jacoby led our group, Music-in-Motion, to wins both years that I participated. The event was held at the Grand Sierra Resort when it was still the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

Reno is also the place I won my first (and only, thus far) series of Blackjack hands, resulting in $400 worth of chips to the positive. My best friend's mom, who I was with at the time, sat me down at a table after a "good karma" incident where I took an elderly, blind lady by the hand and led her to a stall in the ladies' bathroom. Her husband had abandoned her outside the door and I couldn't just stand there idly as she felt her way around the tiled room. Who would want to touch the walls inside a public bathroom--gross!

The buffets, too! Admittedly, the food was much better and more of a draw way back when. Now that I have to watch my calorie intake, it isn't so appealing to go all-you-can-eat at mealtime.

But, back to the future. Reno is a fun place. The city is small enough that you can walk from one end of Virginia Street to the other and see all the downtown casinos in no time. The airport is easy to get to and quick to get in and out of, especially from the Grand Sierra.

And Reno is definitely more family friendly than the other large, Nevada gambling center. In Reno, I don't recall being approached by anyone swatting a rolled up flyer at me.

At 4,400 feet, Reno is likely to be cool but comfortable in late April when COMMON is scheduled. And although it's too early to tell about special events, there are plenty of museums and other year-round activities for visitors looking for a break from a detailed-session induced headache.

Speaking of sessions, if you have a bit of i knowledge that you'd be willing to share in a session, you need to submit the outline to COMMON by August 31. You can submit the session online at COMMON's website.

The user group is looking for a variety of session topics to educate its members during the annual meeting, says Nancy Boutcher, COMMON's education project manager. "Usually we just keep it wide open," she says. "If we see there's an area that's lacking we will try to seek people to fill that area."

COMMON doesn't leave all preparation to the speakers. The website features a slide template and other useful tools to help speakers prepare for a successful session.

About 50 percent of presenters are IBMers, Boutcher says. And the rest are typically COMMON members (according to the website, speakers must join COMMON if a submission is accepted for presentation at the annual conference).

Incidentally, qualified speakers who present at COMMON get one COMMON Credit (CC) for each one hour and 15-minute session they present. One credit is the equivalent of 25 percent of the COMMON registration fee. Credits can be applied to the cost of registration. So speaking has financial rewards, too.

I can't wait to go to COMMON 2009 in Reno. I'm looking forward to seeing all the interesting topics that come about in presentations . . . and making more memories.

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, industry issues editor

Posted by rsanders at July 15, 2008 4:58 PM